Infinite Loop - Part II of the Infinite Loop series
by Perdregast
Summary: Max kept a secret her whole life, something that could have changed her life in many ways. Telling Chloe is just the beginning of her plan. Max has become a force of nature and there's nothing she wouldn't do for Chloe. This is story is an epilogue to my other story Numb. If you haven't read it, I strongly advise you to read it first.
1. I lied to you

**Notes:**

 **This story is an epilogue to my other story Numb.**

 **Numb is about Max´s life in Seattle, her evolution until the events in LIS and her later life with Chloe.**

 **This one might work without reading first the main story but I would strongly recommend to go and read Numb first.  
**

 **You can find it under my user name as I am apparently unable to include a working link.**

* * *

 **I lied to you.**

"Max it's time".

A slight frown was the only visible reaction to her partner's word choice. Despite the severity of the situation Max could not prevent her mind from traveling to another time and place where Chloe pronounced the same sentence though that moment had never existed in this reality. She was the last thread that kept that memory from being forever lost.

The constant beeping of the machinery brought Max out of her self-absorption.

She stopped clutching her wife's wrinkled hand and rose laboriously, her gaze always fixed on her. Chloe was bedridden, connected to diverse state of the art medical devices that performed all her vital functions. Her situation was beyond what current medicine could do and all that remained was to wait. Sadly enough that wasn't the first time they were facing similar circumstances. Again, that was a memory that only existed for Max, but it was etched in her inner most defining places.

A testament to the intrinsic risks of messing with time.

"I'm going to bring Clara and William" Max replied.

As she closed the door behind her she was forced to lean against the hallway wall, sensing her strength failing. She paused, took a couple of deep breaths and did her hair and dress out of dignity rather than necessity. Only after that, she resumed her way to the end of the small corridor that connected Chloe's bedroom to the living room where her children awaited her.

Max had never been herself a believer, but she was thankful for Kate Marsh existing.

William and Clara were sitting on either side of her. Though they were both considerably larger than the delicate Kate, she was somehow able to wrap her arms around them in a comforting gesture. That was the kind of scene Max couldn't have resisted the urge to capture with her camera in any other context.

Not today.

"Momma is awaiting for you... she wants to say goodbye" Max announced her presence.

"Just the two of us?" Clara asked.

"She wanted some time alone with her son and daughter".

William got up from the couch dragging his sister with him "let's go, momma wants to see us".

Kate held back until they were alone to approach Max. Without a word she caressed Max's face before helping her to the couch.

"How can I tell them? It's devastating for me and it's not going to be easier for them. I don't really know how to...".

"I'll be by your side when you talk to them, you don't have to do this alone".

Max was exhausted. The long hours by her wife's bedside took their toll and yet her voice weakened for reasons that had nothing to do with that.

"Kate, today, my kids... they're going to lose both their mothers. I don't think they're ready and you'll be here bearing the brunt of my choices".

"No one can be prepared for something like that".

"I'm confronting my most bitter moment as a mother. Knowing that you will be there for them ... I couldn't have made this choice without you".

"Don't even mention it, I'll do whatever it takes. Lynn and I will take care of everything".

"I... Kate..." was all Max could say before she broke down and sunk her face into her friend's neck. Kate embraced her with all the strength her old body allowed.

Max broke the hug wiping away the tears "Am I doing the right thing?".

Kate smiled slightly "You know, up to this day, it still amazes me your lack of self-confidence. You always do the right thing...or at least what you feel is right. I am a living proof of that statement".

Max ignored the comment, such a deep friendship also entailed the freedom to ignore appraising words without further ado.

"But is it really fair... to everyone?"

Kate sighed, she wanted to gather her thoughts before answering. "I grew up in a very religious environment surrounded by my fair share of fundamentalist bigots. My faith, my beliefs, although more open minded from the people around me, were deeply rooted in me. Most likely, many years ago I would have told you that it wasn't a decision for you to make. Now... I'm telling you I don't care if it's fair or not, all I care about is you. I'm here to give you my unconditional support whatever your resolutions are".

Clara and William entered the room to meet the two old ladies sitting on the couch holding hands silently.

Clara's eyes were swollen and red, William hadn't even tried to stop crying. Both of them knew Chloe was in her last hours.

"Mom can hardly speak anymore, I don't think...".

"I know". Max interrupted her daughter.

She got off the couch and instructed them to sit next to Kate. "Before I go with Chloe I want you to sit for a moment with me. There is something else and Kate needs to be with us".

Max pulled up a chair and positioned it in front of her children before she sat. Clara noticed that her mother was gazing down and turned to her brother who made an ever so slight shrug.

"First and foremost I want to assure you that I've taken everything and everybody involved into consideration. You are so precious to me... this is immensely painful".

"Mom?" William said already concerned.

"A long time ago I was totally lost" Max began, "I made a choice I thought it was for the best, but it ended up being the worst decision in my life and of course nothing came off the way I had planned... I was in a dark place. My parents, your grandparents, were extremely concerned, nothing seemed to work for me and they decided to take definite action on the matter. Affection and support, yes; unconditional love, of course, but also firm decisions. Such was the importance of what was at stake, her only child. They rescued me from myself when I was at the lowest point of my life. I wouldn't be here if not for them... Grandpa told me one thing I will never forget, that I had been the greatest adventure of their lives".

Max stopped and looked up at Kate seeking for reassurance.

"You're doing great Max, go on".

Clara and William moved on the couch uneasily.

"The biggest fear Chloe and I had was that you would grow up measuring your lives against ours. We have been very successful in our careers and that could be detrimental to you, but what really terrified us was that you would see our relationship as a role model. We are... how can I put this? ... an exception? I've never loved anyone but your mother. We've been together since I was a first grader, we split up for some years and that shaped us both in more ways that you would know, but I came back for her and once we reunite again we knew it was forever. That doesn't happen, it never does, and we didn't want you to grow up with wrong expectations about relationships. You have wonderful couples and even better children and grandchildren, William had to go through a painful divorce to found somebody to share his life with, but he managed to find happiness. I'm sure I speak for Chloe when I say we're proud of you, of how you've both found your own way regardless of what your mothers did".

Kate squeezed Max's shoulder as her voice shook.

"My father was right, seeing you growing up has been amazing, a wonderful adventure, but my relationship with Chloe has always been different from the one my parents or yourselves had. There are many things that happened before you were born, Chloe and I... we had to face situations that were beyond what two teenage girls could endure and we did, we prevailed...just the two of us. Your mom.. Chloe... she is the bravest person...".

Max stopped for a second unable to hold back tears and bent over her children to embrace them. Kate interrupted after giving them a respectful moment.

"Max, you should hurry, we don't know how much time she has left".

"You are right" Max said seating back on her chair.

"There's no easy way to say this, I... I can't stay here once Chloe is gone... I just...I can't".

"What do you mean?" Clara asked.

"I'm sorry, I really am. You'll never see me again after tonight".

William and Clara looked at each other in awe.

"I'm asking for your forgiveness, we've had a long and happy life as a family, but Chloe's time is over. You have your own families, you must take care of your children and grand children, that´s your place, love them as we have loved you. My place has always been wherever Chloe was.. always together...I can't be here anymore".

William took his mother's hand summoning all the peace of mind left in himself "Mom, you've been cooped up at home with momma for weeks. You had barely eaten or got any sleep for days refusing to leave her bed side. You are exhausted, get some rest, Clara and I will take care of everything. You´ll see things differently after".

"There's so much you don't know about your momma and me. I won´t be seeing you again and I´m willingly imposing this burden upon myself, this is not by any means a decision I've made lightly. Kate and Lynn have very specific instructions regarding our personal belongings and the rest of our other assets...I've been planning this since momma had her first seizure".

Max looked at her children with infinite sadness.

"Both of you have many years ahead of you and families to continue loving. You have completed my life in a way I can't describe, but my days are also coming to an end. It's time to follow different paths".

"You don't have to do this, you're not alone, you have us" Clara begged.

"I hope you find a place in your mind and heart to accept my decision... this is goodbye".

Kate approached Clara and William and with a soothing voice gave them some of the guidelines Max and her had previously established.

"Your mother is leaving right after Chloe... she's leaving tonight. On her own accord she won't be present at your mom's funeral. I'm staying in the guest room and Lynn is in a hotel nearby, we'll proceed according to Max's instructions. As the depository of Max's instructions along with Lynn and also..."

Kate was forced to clear her voice a couple of times. Despite being fully aware of the role she had accepted and what it entailed, remaining composed was proving to be a gruelling endeavour "as the depository, but above all as Max's friend I want to contribute with my own input. I can't stress enough how hard this choice has been for Max. She is perfectly aware of the implications and all I can ask you is to try and respect her reasons, no matter how demanding that is...now I'll give you a moment to say goodbye, but please be quick, Chloe doesn't have much time left."

William and Clara wrapped around their mom. Maybe they didn't understand her motives maybe they would never, but right at that point all they cared about was comforting her. When she felt that a respectful lapse of time had passed, Kate reminded Max that Chloe was waiting. "I'll be here, take all the time you need".

A muttered "thank you" was all Max managed to say as he got up and moved apart from her children. Before she crossed the threshold to the hallway she turned around and took a last look at them.

 _We've_ _done well Chloe, we've done well._

That thought warmed her heart.

And that was all, but at the same time it was a lot given the circumstances.

* * *

Chloe tried to sit up when her wife entered the room. Max hurried to the bed head and put her arm gingerly on Chloe's shoulder, preventing her efforts.

"Don't strain yourself" she said as she caressed her hair.

Chloe painfully settled in bed again.

"Max?"

"Yes?"

"You look awesome today, you dressed up like that for me?" she said in a thin voice that was barely perceptible as she drew one of her characteristic malevolent smiles.

"I can't believe it, you are incorrigible" Max stared at her "You're really flirting with me?".

"Shouldn't miss any opportunity... you'll never really know when it might be the last chance".

"Chloe..."

"Take my hand, it'll be over soon, just stay with me please".

Chloe's breathing was weaker, they both knew she was running out of time.

Max kept fidgeting with her free hand trying to sort her thoughts until she took a deep breath. There was no sense in stalling anymore.

"Chloe, I have a confession to make before you go to sleep".

"Before I go to sleep?... You know I'm not waking up, right?".

Of course she knew. She was painfully aware of it, yet she couldn't help the unfathomable void forming in her stomach as she heard Chloe pronouncing her inexorable sentence.

"I... I... lied to you".

"I forgive you" Chloe answered immediately.

Max rolled her eyes "Maybe you should first listen to what I have to say".

"I don't care what is it or what you've done... you've made me so much happier than I ever thought I could be, that's all that matters to me".

"Chloe, I...".

"No...listen, I'm going to pass away being a completely contented and remorseless person, you made that possible. Now go ahead and tell me whatever it is, nothing will ever change the way I feel about you".

"I'm glad I made you feel that way. Still.. " Max looked down, ashamed "I lied.. I...you see...I never lost my powers. All this time I've been able to manipulate time".

Chloe stared at her wife with eyes wide-open. "Why?".

"That night, you were safe, no one else had died and we promised each other that we would always be together. Once I had all I ever wished for I was cursed with the fear of losing it over again. I never understood the real repercussions of using my powers, no prize was worth enough to risk our future together. Telling you that I no longer had my powers and moving on seemed like the easiest way out".

"All this time and you never used them?".

"Not once".

Chloe sighed "It doesn't matter now...anyway...I wouldn't change a single moment of the time we've spent together".

The effort of the conversation had drained her, she was literally minutes away from departing.

"Do you remember the day we went back to Blackwell with the kids?" Max asked shyly.

"Sure, how... to forget about it...did you... did you like the skatepark? I named it after us" Max had to bend down and press her ear to Chloe, her voice so weak.

"It was amazing, just like you. An amazing park from an amazing person".

"Thank you for being... my partner".

Chloe closed her eyes and Max kissed her. All she could do was hold her hand and stay by her side, just like she had asked her for.

The silence in the room was only interrupted by the increasingly spaced beeps that indicated the state of Chloe's heart. Max suddenly noticed a slight grip on her hand, startled, she bent over to her wife.

"You never left" she said in an almost unintelligible murmur "you came back for me... you told me you'd always be with me... you kept your word...thank you".

Max smiled.

"Go to sleep, Chloe."

* * *

Kate was waiting in the living room. As soon as she heard the door she got up and made a beeline to Max.

"My children?".

"It's been hard, I'm not going to hide it from you. They knew they were coming to say goodbye to Chloe, but finding out that they were losing their two mothers the same day... that's a bitter blow. Despite everything they are trying to understand your reasons. I guess the next few days once reality takes over will be harder, but don't worry about it, we'll be here for them. They are family to me".

"I already said this, honestly I don't know how to thank you for everything you've done for me".

"thank me?" Kate took her friend's hands "Everything that has happened in my life since I went up on that rooftop, I owe it to you. That day my story was going to end but you decided that my life mattered when no one else believed it, not even myself... My late husband, even if he left us too soon, I remember him every day and those memories will always live with me... our daughter Lynn... everything... absolutely everything is thanks to you. You are the reason I devoted my life to helping children. You have influenced so many lives in so many different ways, always for the better, but in my case it has not been just that... I owe it all to you. It's me who is grateful for the life I have been granted".

The two women stared at each other unable to speak.

"What happens now?" Kate broke the silence.

"I don't really know how it works, I've never known, but I have a kind of certainty with no tangible proof... when I'll jump I'll be the only one disappearing. You, Lynn, William, Clara... even Chloe, nothing will change for you. I will disappear and come into existence in a parallel line. Everything we have experienced so far won't be lost and whatever happens when I am not around will keep it's normal course except I will be gone".

"Everything will remain the same as it was?".

"I would have never made this choice if I thought this timeline would be erased. My children.. you.. no... I wouldn't do that to any of you".

"You'll disappear and life would go on..."

"I assume I can only exist in one timeline. Reality will branch out in parallel lines starting from the point I jump back".

Max looked down. "I've never been good at farewells".

"You've been the true blessing in my life".

Max turned around unceremoniously holding back her tears.

She noticed a pull on her arm. Surprised, she turned to meet a glassy eyed Kate dragging her into a fierce hug.

"Promise me you'll be my friend, no matter what happens, no matter whatever changes you make, you'll be my friend".

"I promise you" Max said in a choked voice.

"I... I couldn't stand the thought of another Kate without you in her life".

"I won't give up on you, never".

Kate squeezed Max against herself until her body protested the effort. Crying without a hint of embarrassment, she gently pushed her away towards Chloe's room. "Go and save Chloe again, she deserves better than bleeding to death in a bathroom thinking that she is alone in the world".

Max stood right where she was, staring vacantly while she regarded Kate's words "Save Chloe..." she mumbled absentmindedly.

* * *

A lie held for so many years and a half-truth.

She had never lost her ability to manipulate time, but that was only part of the truth. Her powers had grown exponentially over the years.

Every time Chloe had suffered, every bad word, every argument between them. Her children, scrapes and bruises, disappointments, pain. She had experienced all those moments knowing that she could make them go away. The answer was there, literally at her fingertips.

Max sensed an almost limitless power raging through her veins. A strange knowledge permeating her mind and body as if her abilities were so natural to her as any other basic function. How far could she have gone if she had explored her limits?

That was a question that no longer made sense.

For the first and only time in this timeline she was going to use her powers.

Max leaned forward to kiss her wife.

"I'm coming for you" she said calmly.

She did not bother to raise her hand, an unnecessary gesture.

Neither she need pictures anymore. All she had to do was concentrate in a precise moment in time, evoking her memories and jump.

She focused on a moment engraved in her memory, her recollection of that day still crystal clear after so many years.

The room was charged with static electricity and time slowed down. The very fabric of space-time started unraveling in front of her eyes dissolving in pure energy ripples. She was able to discern every particle splitting around her as she performed a wonderful dance with the atoms.

For an impossible short amount of time she felt all mighty.

And then, Max simply disappeared from that reality.


	2. As you wish

**Summary**

I am Max Caulfield-Price.

I am the Goddam time master.

* * *

 **As you wish.**

A room. There is somebody lying on a bed, the shot only shows the lower half of the bed. In the background, the increasingly spaced beeps of an EKG monitor can be heard. It beeps a few times and switches to the flatline continuous sound.

Fade to black.

A choked scream followed by the dull thump of a rapid heartbeat. The screen remains dark.

A blurry image with a POV shot. Someone looks at their own hands and slowly turns their head to both sides. Image remains unfocused.

Black screen.

An _Another great day in Arcadia Bay_ post shot.

Black screen.

Aerial Blackwell Academy shot.

Black screen.

A house, front wall is half painted in blue.

Black screen.

Music chimes in. The song name is _corrientes circulares en el tiempo_ from l _os Planetas_

A street. Long shot, camera is fixed in the street's closer end to the screen and the scene plays in slow motion.

Halfway the shot, on the right side there are some kids skating on a front driveway, a bit further on the opposite side, a middle-aged man is watering the lawn.

At the far end of the street somebody enters the shot. Too far away from the camera, it's impossible to tell who it is.

The new character continues to approach the camera slowly. It's a girl and she is running as if her life depended on it. As she approaches the skater boys, they stop to watch her pass by, surprised by her evident effort.

It's Max Caulfield.

It's 13-year-old Max, wearing the same clothes as the day she left for Seattle, the day she left Chloe.

Someone else enters the scene the same way Max did. It's Ryan Caulfield chasing his daughter.

Black Screen

* * *

Her lungs were about to explode and her muscles implored her to give up, but Max never stopped. Not until she reached her destination. She climbed the steps leading up to the modest garden consisting in a couple ornamental bushes and a few lawn blotches and bent over trying to catch her breath. Her whole body was resenting her lack of physical activity. She granted herself mere seconds to get some air, tomorrow she would have plenty of time to worry about muscle stiffness. Not today, not now.

Nobody answered the doorbell.

Max knew that Joyce and Chloe were home, she had been in that house a few minutes ago bidding her farewells in the most cruel way possible. With each unanswered ring the evidence of her mistake piled up, threatening to crush her. Her best friend, her only friend... Not even Chloe was fully aware of how deeply Max cared for her.

She had broken her heart.

"CHLOE, OPEN THE DOOR".

A fierce determination flooded her body. She wasn't going to leave. She rang the bell again and again, unaffected by the lack of response.

"IT'S MAX, OPEN UP"

Convinced that the doorbell wouldn't work, Max banged on the door with all her forces.

"CHLOE, PLEASE".

In outright opposition to the force used knocking on the door her voice broke down halfway her shouting.

"Please.. I'm so sorry".

The metallic sound of jangling keys alerted Max.

The door opened to a Joyce who looked at her with an accusing grimace. She hadn't heard any footsteps which could only mean that Joyce had been right behind the door the full time, refusing to open.

"I never thought I'd say this, but you're not welcomed in this house".

Max looked down in pain. She was also embarrassed to be scolded by someone she considered a second mother to her, but in the years to come, the feeling she would associate with that memory would be sheer pain. And only to add to her misery, she was fully conscious that she deserved as much.

"I came back to see Chloe, I'm not leaving".

"Chloe asked me not to open the door".

Joyce crossed her arms looking down on Max. She wasn't stepping aside to let her in and everything about her body language screamed that she only opened to get rid of her.

A panting Ryan showed up in that exact moment. A simple visual sweep was all he needed to asses the situation, he locked eyes with Joyce and slightly nodded his head in an apologizing gesture.

Ryan gently pulled on his daughter's sleeve. "We must go".

Max got rid of his father, her small feet firmly planted on the ground "I'm not leaving".

"That's enough, let it go, we have to leave now".

"I'm not letting her go" Max clenched her fists sinking her fingernails into her palms "You can ground me once we get to Seattle, whatever you and Mom decide I will accept it without any complain. You have my word. I will apologize to Joyce as many times as you ask me to if that's what it takes, but right now, Dad..." Max voice broke "Dad, I won't ever ask for anything else. I you have ever loved me, and I know you do, please let me do this, Chloe is all I care for".

Ryan stood right where he was, dumbfounded, unable to answer back his daughter.

"If I leave now I'll hurt her and she doesn't deserve it" Max turned her head to Joyce as tears streamed into her eyes "This is all my fault, I cut her out the moment I knew we were moving. I'm not asking for forgiveness… Joyce...Dad..this is not about me, it's about Chloe and she doesn't deserve this..She's been through enough already. I'm begging you both, I can't leave like this... I can't… I'm the only one to blame here, you can help me here trying to make it better for her. All I'm asking you is to let me talk to her".

The conflict in Joyce's mind was fully justified. Joyce knew that Max was the only person who had been able to get close to Chloe after William's death, somehow saving her from completely shutting herself off from the rest of the world. When Vanessa called her to announce that they were moving, she knew it was going to be a big trauma for Chloe. What none of the adults could have anticipated was Max's reaction. Joyce had to break the news to her daughter when Max's parents told her that she still refused to visit her friend. Chloe was devastated, and after her poor attempt of a farewell she just ran to her bedroom and broke down in tears.

Nonetheless, she knew that the girl in front of her was the only person person capable of alleviating her daughter's suffering...or totally breaking her.

Her maternal protection instinct was carefully balancing the options when Max spoke again.

"Joyce, you and I might be different in every other aspect, but there is one thing that makes us equal".

A mother knows. Despite her incomprehensible behavior, Joyce knew that she cared about Chloe. Only Max knew why she did what she did, but this time she was right. This was about Chloe. No one else mattered, and in that priority, they were both equal.

Without breaking eye contact Joyce slowly moved from the door, letting her in.

Max stepped inside. A voice stopped her at the foot of the stairs.

"Don't make me regret this, Chloe is the only family I have left and I would do anything to keep her safe".

"Oh.. you don't know what _I_ would do to keep her safe, you don't know what _I_ would sacrifice for her".

Max froze. She had no idea where her words came from. She felt as if someone had spoken those words for her and yet a voice within her told her that it was the absolute truth. She would do anything to keep her safe, and as to what she would sacrifice for her, that same voice urged her to relegate that thought to the back of her mind.

Joyce didn't answer, the blunt tone and absolute security in which she spoke had rendered her speechless. Max kept staring upstairs, her back always turned on Joyce while her words floated in the air. Snapping out of her trance Max regained control of her body. Without looking back, she ran up the stairs and came in her friend's room.

Chloe was lying in her bed, curled in fetal position sobbing without comfort.

Max hated what she had done. She hated herself.

Chloe raised her head slightly and acknowledged her friend before burying her head in her pillow again. "Go away, I don't want to see you anymore".

"No".

"I said, go away, we are done".

"No".

"I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU, I HATE YOU, LEAVE ME ALONE".

"I'm not going".

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? HAVEN'T YOU HURT ME ENOUGH ALREADY?".

Max chose not to answer. Chloe opted to remain silent as well. Even in the worst of circumstances between them she regretted that Max's last memory of her could be a bitter one. Such was her love for her parting friend.

"Everything". Max finally said.

"What do you mean?" Chloe answered in a nasal voice.

"Your question... 10 minutes ago, _what am I to you?_... you are everything to me".

Chloe stood up sitting on one side of the bed. She carefully examined Max, who in turn kept her eyes on her stoically.

A thousand questions raised in Chloe's mind, all the doubts and insecurities that had been building up that week needed answers.

A simple "Why?" was all she said between sobs.

Max forced herself to stare at Chloe although seeing her like that consumed her.

"I was scared...no, that doesn't even come close to describe it.. I was terrified... I ignored you because I was terrified".

"What could you be scared of?".

She averted her gaze. She had to be honest with her friend at all costs. Max had never been shy about showing Chloe that she cared about her, still, deep inside her, she was reluctant to tell Chloe _just_ _how much_ she really cared for her. She was aware that she knew practically nothing about life in general, most adult stuff was too complex for her and she preferred to focus on simpler things. However, of one thing she was sure; in Chloe she had found the friend who made her feel alive and safe. She didn't expect to ever find another friend like her. She didn't dare tell Chloe that much and risk being seen as a pathetic, scared, little girl.

Now there was no other option.

"Of losing you".

"I... I don't see...".

"When my parents told me we had to move, I... I couldn't believe it, just like that, my whole life, you... It was too much. I knew in the end you would forget about me and make new friends. I was paralyzed, I didn't want to feel anything, I didn't want to suffer, so I thought that if I could take you out of my life from that very day it would hurt less and maybe one day I could forget about you".

"You want to forget about me?".

"NO! never... I know it's selfish, I know I've hurt you, but you have to understand... I... I can't lose you like this.. you are all... it's too painful".

"You are making no sense, it's the same for both of us, you will make new friends and forget about me".

Max gave out a frustration snort "you don't understand, I'm shy and small and I've been never good at making friends, I only have you...you...you're the opposite, you're cheerful, easy going, fun and you know lots of people, everybody likes you...you make me feel safe...you're tall and you have beautiful hair... your skin is so spotless and when you smile is like...I feel like..."

"Max?" Chloe looked at her friend in awe.

Max realized what she had just said and blushed furiously.

"You'll make new friends, they will be by your side when you need them, I'll be in Seattle away from you. You'll spend more and more time with them and you'll gradually move away from me and... I can't stand it, I don't want to lose you, but I don't want to suffer like this either. I thought it was better if I tried to move on from the first moment, even if that meant leaving you at the worst moment.. I am so sorry Chloe.. so sorry".

"That's why you've been avoiding me all week?".

Max nodded.

"I... I didn't understand, I thought I'd done something wrong..."

"No, Chloe, please don't blame yourself, you've been nothing but the best friend I could have ever expected".

"...or you were to eager to go to Seattle and forget about Arcadia Bay".

"I don't want to go to Seattle, I asked my parents to stay with you even though I knew they wouldn't let me".

"Don't you want to leave? Seattle is much better than this".

"I know, Seattle seems like a dream city..." Max stopped for a second almost embarrassed "not without you, I don't want to go anywhere where you aren't. I didn't know what to do, I just took the easy way out".

"You still care about me?".

The vulnerability that Chloe was showing made her guts twitch. Max tried to avoid it with all her might but tears began to stream down her face. Chloe didn't push the issue further already knowing the answer, instead, she waited patiently for her friend to calm down.

"Why did you come back?". She asked once she figured out her friend was soothed enough.

Max took a deep breath "I was in the car and, I don't know, I think I zoned out, I haven't slept well since... I really don't know what happened, I don't recall falling asleep, it was very strange. Suddenly I was wide awake, everything was blurry and for a second I didn't know where I was...and the most strange thing was that I woke up or whatever it was to this strange feeling, this certainty… I jumped out of the car and started running. I had to see you".

"That thought.. it was about me?" Chloe asked, and it didn't sound like a question at all.

"Somehow, I knew that I was going to hurt you. It wasn't just about losing your best friend" Max looked away from her friend and made that particular gesture of hugging her forearm with her other hand. Chloe assented with a gentle head bob. She was still entitled to call herself Chloe's best friend.

"I can't explain how, but I felt that I was going to hurt you so profoundly that you would never recover... I don't know, maybe it's stupid...you're going to make friends and forget me while I'm away all the same… but I couldn't leave like that, this sensation, even if there is only the slightest possibility that this thought is true… I had to come back".

"No". Chloe paused "It's not stupid".

"There's more" Without letting go of her forearm, Max looked down, "this is going to sound crazier, I mean, if that's possible. Besides this conviction that I was going to ruin your life, there was something else, this other feeling and this one I am so intensely sure about it...I...I won't forget about you, I won't move on, this" she gestured, pointing alternatively at the two of them "this… you and me, it doesn't end here, not for me at least".

"I don't want you to forget about me. I don't want you to move on from me".

"Chloe, I'm sorry"

"It's not your fault".

"I don't want to go".

"I don't want you to go, but we don't have many options".

Chloe rose to her feet and Max approached her, staying at arms length not daring to take the last step.

"I don't make the rules, I wish I could because I wouldn't let you go. Maybe one day, but that day hasn't come yet... however there is something I can do. I'm going to call you tonight when I get there, and tomorrow, and the day after that... every day. I'm going to give hell to my parents until they let me come down here on school breaks, Thanksgiving, Christmas, any chance I have until I'm old enough to drive myself back to you. I'll make you feel like I haven't left".

Chloe smiled openly "I would love that".

"We have a spare room in Seattle, my parents made sure of that".

"I… I will give hell to Joyce until she allows me to visit you".

"Now I have to go and we can't change that, but don't you ever forget this. You're not alone, even if we live far away, you are still my best friend".

Chloe started crying again, though this time for a very different reason.

"Remember, Chloe, I'll never leave you, you'll never be alone, you have to trust me on this"

"I've always trusted you".

The two friends stared at each other.

Max took a small step forward her eyes fixed on Chloe, she put both hands on her friend's shoulders and tiptoed to kiss her cheek.

Before she stepped aside, she whispered a couple words into her ear.

Chloe blushed as Max turned around and ran downstairs.

After a few seconds she couldn't help but smile.

There was hope.

* * *

Time is made of funny stuff.

Each person interprets it differently, even over the course of a person's life, perception changes. Of course we all know time is relative and the only certainty we can have is that it flows onward.

Or at least it used to until somebody broke time.

Max was looking out of the hospital window with a blank stare, pondering about her life. Images of her past ran through her mind and almost impossibly she experienced every memory at the same time.

It is the first moment of Max in Seattle and she calls Chloe.

It is the day after and Max calls Chloe again. She calls her every day for years except for school breaks. They spend every school break together.

It is the end of Max's first school year in Seattle and she has made good friends, things work smoothly for her.

It is 2010. Chloe meets Rachel Amber, they start hanging out together.

It is 2011. Chloe and Rachel go to a party. Rachel drinks too much and makes a move. Chloe refuses her.

It is 2011. That same night. Chloe can't sleep thinking about what happened with Rachel. It is 1.00 AM and she calls Max. They talk until daylight comes, Chloe never tells Max what's bothering her and she never asks.

It is 2012. Max goes on her first date, she doesn't go on a second date. Max goes on several dates but never repeats.

It is 2012. Chloe and Rachel grow apart. Rachel starts dating an older guy.

It is summer of 2012. Max tells Chloe she's applying to Blackwell for senior year. Chloe decides to take a sabbatical year before college, she'll stay in Arcadia bay saving money.

It is fall 2012. Chloe has decided to stop dating, so has Max. Neither of them tells the other, they never talk about dates.

It is August 2013. Chloe's drives to Seattle to help Max with the move. The trip takes six hours with Chloe's old truck. By the time they are back in Arcadia Bay, they're already holding hands and it feels completely different.

It is September 2013. Max meets Kate Marsh. They immediately connect. They will remain close friends for the rest of their lives.

It is October 4th 2013. Kate hangs out with Max and Chloe and turns down an invitation for a Vortex Club party.

It is June 2014. The three of them got acceptance letters from colleges in Los Angeles.

It is 2022. Max and Chloe get married. Kate Marsh doubles as Bridesmaid for both of them.

It is 2024 Chloe has her second miscarriage. They stop trying. Max quits her job as a freelance photographer to stay by her wife's side.

It is 2025. Chloe applies and is granted a position as a physics teacher at Seattle University. Max opens a small photography studio.

It is 2037. Joyce, who has never remarried, retires and rents a small apartment in Seattle. She will live there until she passes away.

It is 2072. Chloe has her first seizure.

It is 2078. Chloe has another seizure. Max is in the hospital with her, she is looking out of the hospital window with a blank stare.

* * *

"Are you with me?"

Max turned her head slowly to her wife, "I'm sorry, I got lost on my thoughts".

The doctor had just left the room. He informed them that she was out of danger however, amid his reassuring words his message was clear. Chloe's heart had sustained major damage and she wouldn't survive a third seizure. Basically, she was living on borrowed time. The doctors wanted her to stay a couple nights in the hospital and then discharge her. There was nothing else that could be done for her.

It was time. Again.

A faint smile peeped over her face "Do you trust me?".

"What kind of question is that?".

"A very simple one".

"I thought that had been established a long time ago".

"If I told you the most incredible story you ever heard, would you believe me?" Chloe tried to answer, but Max shot another question almost immediately "If I told you that this story is about us, although you can't remember any of it... would you still trust me?".

Using the bed controls, Chloe raised the bed's upper half so their heads were almost at the same level "I have always trusted you".

"I guess so... you see, this is not the first time we've been in this situation".

She narrowed her eyes at her wife "I suppose you don't mean my first seizure".

"No".

Max started fidgeting nervously with her hands, a gesture that didn't went unnoticed by Chloe. She knew she had Chloe's unfailing trust. Asking her was only a way to set the scene for the most staggering story ever and still she couldn't help the insecurity.

"This is going to sound crazy. This... this... is not our first life together".

Chloe raised her eyebrows "Pardon me?".

"We lived through our life once and this is actually our second life together... I said _the most incredible story_ and I didn't say it lightly". Max opened her mouth a couple of times before she decided to speak, when she did, she spoke very slowly. "Do you remember your first attack?" .

"Not an easily forgotten issue".

"I found you lying in the floor when I came back home that was...anyway, later that night, the doctors told me you were going to recover but they wanted you to stay in the hospital. That night, by your bedside I had the strangest dream. I was in a room and there was an old woman lying there, she was on her last moments, wired to a ton of medical devices. I was holding her hand and suddenly I felt a light squeeze, that woman tried to speak to me but she was so weak, her voice was little more than an unintelligible mumble. She thank me for coming back and for keeping my word to stay with her".

"A rather strange dream, I will give you that".

Max took her partner's hand in hers. "Chloe, the older woman was you. You were different, but the moment I saw you I recognized you immediately".

"Me?".

"It was you, older than you are now. We were clearly a couple and it seemed like that was our home. There were pictures of us and personal stuff, I didn't recognize any of it though. I wake up when the nurses came in the next morning and the memory from that dream was still crystal clear, I remembered every little detail".

"That's odd... and interesting"

"That was the first dream. When we came back home for the hospital you thought I was acting a bit weird".

"Oh, I remember that. I mean I had a seizure, it was quite normal for you to be worried and you clearly were, but there was something else, you seemed a bit off".

"I was worried about you, of course, but we stayed four nights in the hospital, and I kept dreaming. Every night I dreamed of the same scene, except that each time the scene was longer. There were two more people and I said goodbye to them...they were our children".

"We never had kids, you know we couldn't, I..."

Max bed over and kissed Chloe's forehead. So many years later that was still an uncomfortable topic for her.

"Not in this life, no. In any case, the dreams keep coming, there was Kate who seemed to be helping me in some way".

"Wait, Kate as in our Kate Marsh?"

"Some people seem to be a constant in our lives. Anyway, the dreams never stopped and shortly after I began having visions".

"For how long?".

"Years, and gradually they become longer and more complex".

Chloe's expression hardened "And you decided to keep it from me... at least I hope you went to see a Doctor".

"No. At first I didn't want to worry you, it was just a dream that kept coming back. I thought it was just stress because of your seizure. When you recovered and not only the dreams didn't stop but I started with the visions I just..." fully aware that her wife was shaking her head in disapproval, she elaborated immediately "I know it seems stupid, but there is an explanation, a rather bizarre one. This visions, they were, let's say, convenient. Never happened when I was driving or in a hazardous situation. The first one was while you were away on a seminar, I was watching a movie at home, lying on the couch and it happened. The ones that came after all took place in similar situations, I zoned out for a while I was in secure places".

"That's weird, like night springs kind of weird" The mysterious look Max gave her didn't go unnoticed. With the certainty that there was much more to the story she pushed "and those visions, what happened in them?".

"The dreams were so real, I kept seeing you, well, a different _you_ , but all the rest was so unfamiliar to me. When the visions began everything changed. Calling it visions might not be the most accurate definition...memories fits better. I felt as if I was remembering parts of my life that I had long forgotten. It was like a big puzzle, I was putting together pieces, memories, with every new vision all made more sense. It was a strange feeling, like someone was slowly feeding me info... I needed to fully understand before telling you".

"I assume you know already".

"I do" Max nodded "I was waiting for the right time to tell you".

"And that time is now?"

"It is".

"Would you mind sharing it with me?".

"I saw us, in another life. You were very different, me?, not so much. We lived a whole life together and in the end, when you had no more time left, I went back to start over".

"I see.." Chloe said thoughtfully "I had no more time left... I'm sensing a parallel there, I suppose that's why this is the right moment to tell me" Chloe furrowed her brow deeper in thought "So this life, the one I am sure I have lived, what you are trying to tell me is that is not our first life. This would be our second life?".

"As as odd as it may seem, yes, I remember our first life as clearly as I remember this one, I've lived both of them".

"And how exactly did that happen, I mean, why I can't remember?".

The little grimace gave her away, Chloe knew at once that her partner was nervous about her next revelation.

"Well.. I have time-related powers".

"Aha" Chloe kept staring at Max seriously considering her options, she spoke carefully "As a woman of science, I have to ask you if you can prove it. I know it makes me a shitty wife, and I know I said I trust you, but this is considerably off the charts".

"I can't" Max shook her head "I mean, I can, but not yet. This is not a toy, I made that mistake once and I won't do it again".

Chloe took some time to answer "I find myself in a complicated situation. Your story is impossible to believe ans at the same time I absolutely trust you. I know you wouldn't lie to me and I will not discuss that particular. Still, I need something to hold on, can you understand that?".

"I know, that's why I think I should tell you about our first life".

"OK... I'd better get comfortable I'm pretty sure it's going to be an interesting story".

"I'll start with the day I left for Seattle". Max gave a long sip to her water bottle anticipating that she was going to be talking for quite some time.

"That was the best thing that ever happened to me, you coming back for me".

"You see, that's the beginning of the story, I... I didn't".

"NO" Chloe covered her mouth. She had confessed to Max that without her father and her she would have been in a very dark place. Over the years both they came to the consensus that if Max hadn't come back, their lives would have been very different and not for the best.

Max couldn't help but notice how her own eyes filled with tears. "By the time I first opened my laptop in Seattle you had already unfriended me on Facebook...".

Several hours later, the two women were holding hands. Max had patiently answered each and every one of her wife's questions. It seemed like Chloe believed the story, or at least wanted to believe it no matter how incredible it was. At one point, she stopped asking. The story was so complex, so full of details that it was unthinkable to make up something so elaborated for no real purpose. The silence between them was tense, Max feared her partner's reaction and since she had finished, she had mostly limited herself to answer her questions.

"I can hear the little cogs in your brain turning". Max said.

"It's not fair".

Max tightened up "What's not fair?".

"Let me get this straight... this is our second life together right?".

"Yes".

"And in my first life I was very different than I am now?".

"Right."

"It's not fair." A mischievous smile lit up Chloe's face: "In my first life I was a blue-haired punk turned into award-winning actress turned into honor student turned into award-winning writer, and in my second life a college professor". She stopped and made an overly exaggerated gesture pointing at her wife "you, on the contrary, nerdy photographer on round one and nerdy photographer again...boring, very boring".

"really?"Max's jaw dropped "really?".

"Oh, come on, you've enjoyed your Chloe in different flavors and I seem to be limited to loving you in your generic t-shirt and worn out jeans... not that I complain about it, you're all I've ever wanted, but you could, you know... um… I don't know... sexy nurse or something".

"I can't believe it, I just told you life-changing stuff and all you care about is cosplay banging?".

"Hey hey, hey, hold your horses" Chloe faked indignation. "You know I'm not one to reproach, but you are not out of blame yourself in this department. Do I have to remind you what happened when I took the teaching position".

"I don't know what you are talking about". The extreme blush that came to her face said exactly the opposite.

"You made me dress up as a teacher for you. Open blouses, short, narrow skirts, stockings and high heels ... you even bought me some lenseless glasses. No teacher dresses like that".

"I don't remember... maybe once".

Chloe could have sworn she saw steam coming out of her wife's ears. "months, it lasted for months. I would came home from work, we would have dinner, and after, you would make me undress and dress up as the porn version of a teacher...you little perv".

"Sush, you're clearly exaggerating".

"Oh no, I'm not" she replied in a playful tone, "now you're going to deny that for years you slept on those t-shirts you ordered online _hot for teacher_... you never even liked Van Halen".

Chloe's giggle was contagious, the lighter tone break had been a blessing for both of them. "You probably still have some of those t-shirts around the house".

"They were cheaper if ordered in bulk, I bought a full box". Max said, trying to keep her laughter down.

"Oh my God, I can't even imagine what you made me do in our first life".

"That's a thought you can hold on to, maybe at some point you will know" Max's poker face confused her partner.

With both women more relaxed, Chloe continued to ask questions, especially from the early days. No matter how extraordinary her life was as a famous actress, her curiosity was most piqued by her previous relationships. In the life she remembered, Max had been her first and only one in everything and she was more than happy with that. Knowing that she had slept with boys or had such an strange relationship with Rachel Amber, a person she met for a brief time so many years ago was specially weird for her.

The two women got lost again with questions and answers, with memories that belonged to only one of them.

"You've already told me about a life I don't remember with all kind of details, even so there's something you haven't told me".

"And that would be?"

"Why did you jump? We had a wonderful life, you said it yourself, and why at that point in time? jumping back so far changed a lot of things. So many things could have gone wrong, you took a big risk".

"Don't underestimate the power of resentment, it's an extraordinary motivator".

"Resentment? Against whom?".

Max stood up and walked to the window, clenching her teeth as she stared outside to avoid her partner's gaze.

"Against me. I never forgave myself for leaving you, for the 5 years I didn't dare to reach to you. When we met again you were a bitter person, deeply hurt and with obvious abandonment issues. Not a lifetime together fixed you completely" She had to stop for a second to catch her breath "I never forgave myself for causing you that pain, it was my fault. You have to understand that you are the only thing that matters to me, you are my whole world and I... wanted to erase that pain... that fear, and I had the means to do it ".

Chloe frowned "It's a huge leap of faith just to take your story into consideration and yet I believe you with no proof, such is my trust in you, but now we are entering uncharted territory, here be dragons and all. I find very likely the reasons you give me for jumping… my problem here is that I can't feel a connection with those other Chloe and Max".

"No" Max interrupted bluntly "don't say that, ever. That other Chloe, blue haired punk, hurt, she was my wife just like you are, my partner in life and I love every inch of her being as much as I love you. She's you just like the first Max is me, there's nobody else but the two of us, one Max and one Chloe".

"I can't...you must understand".

"No" Max interrupted again, "When I first discovered my powers it was different, I rewound small lapses, seconds, a minute or two at most. I rewound everything, the whole planet perhaps, everything went back the way it was. When I decided to jump we had lived a whole life together, we had children, family, friends... I couldn't erase them as if they didn't matter, as if their lives were worthless. I decided that instead of rewinding I was going to create a new parallel timeline. I would jump out from the only timeline that existed onto a new one that would branch out from my point of arrival. Everybody in the old timeline would keep on with their lives, including you..that's why I waited until your very last minute to jump". Before continuing Max smiled humbly "but there was no way I was going to let any part of you get lost. All of us, no matter the timeline we live in, we are all the same, and no memory of us will ever be lost. No Chloe will ever be a stranger to any Max, no Max will ever be a stranger to any Chloe. None of us is left behind… not on my watch".

"but how? I don't remember".

Max stepped away from the window, facing her wife. She stretched out her right arm turning her hand around, she carefully looked at it as if it was the first time she had seen it.

"I never lost my powers".

"Oh my God" Chloe looked at her partner with wide eyes.

"With the dreams and the visions something awakened inside me, it seems the more I live the more powerful I become…. I can feel it, boiling in my blood, running through my body in endless waves of immense power, anticipating what comes next".

"What are you going to do?".

Max approached her very slowly and kissed her. With the utmost delicacy, she cupped her partner's face caressing her.

"I love you Chloe Price, I love you in every timeline. It's time for me to give you back what's yours. Close your eyes".

No prose would be accurate enough to describe what Chloe experienced. A lifetime of memories flooding her brain. He lived that life, now she remembered, those were her memories. So much love, so much pain... it was wonderful. And Max was right, there was just one of her, she was the blue haired punk as much as she was the teacher. Now she understood.

Max withdrew giving her space. Chloe remained silent, her eyes closed while tears streamed down her cheek. Finally, she spoke very slowly without opening her eyes.

"You have broken time and space to save me, you have been willing to sacrifice the unthinkable for me and yet you did not hesitate to help me die just because I asked you to... you would really do anything for me".

That particular memory hit Max hard, and she joined her partner in the tears "only if you ask me to".

"How much you must love me for that?".

That was a question that needed no answer, Max just took her partner's hand again and sat down next to her.

Chloe needed to assimilate a full existence. She had always known that the bond that linked them was special, but how could someone digest being the center of such an staggering situation and not feel a huge responsibility for it.

Her wife had created a new timeline to spare her pain, that was really a lot to sink in.

Chloe stole looks from her espouse, trying to conjugate the person in front of her in her two different natures. Her wife and partner, the love of her life, on the one hand. Probably the most powerful human being on the other. It was apparently impossible and at the same time so simple. The answer had been given to her by Max herself.

Chloe was all Max cared about.

That was a thought to hold on to.

"It's a lot, I know it". Max said.

"We're together and that's all that matters. It's all right".

"Yes" Max answered with a blank look again, her mind engaged in other thoughts, "As it should be, together".

"You never thought this could have gone wrong, that we might not have ended up together".

"At some point I thought about it" Max confessed "but it doesn't make sense, it would invalidate everything else".

"Invalidate everything else?… I'm sorry I'm getting lost here".

"When I first found out I had these powers I was really confused. Why me? What was so special about me? what was I supposed to do? Saving you was almost a reflex action even when I didn't know it was you. That was all it was about? I lived through that week asking myself those questions constantly. You were the reason I came back to Arcadia Bay, by the end of the week I knew there would never be anybody else for me. Unfortunately I found myself in an impossible situation. Whatever I choose I had to face a life of pain and regret.

So I choose to go through that pain with you...it didn't work, the guilt consumed us. You asked me to go back and sacrifice you. I couldn't. Nothing was set on stone I was lashing out in the dark with my powers and all I was sure of was that I would never sacrifice you. I decided to try a different approach. Instead of relying in my powers I relied in you. Both of us, no powers, we saved everyone. The only option that would grant us a future together".

"Except that you kept your powers all your life and you hide it from me".

"I didn't understand any of it . I had already done what I thought I was supposed to do, no one had died and I was not going to risk our relationship using my powers again. It should be over, that was the most logical conclusion... except that my powers were not meant for that".

"It doesn't make sense. Your powers woke up when you saw me die and the answer was not using them?".

"It makes a lot of sense when you see the big picture".

Max stretched herself out, "It took me two whole lives to understand it. I wasn't supposed to save you, at least not in the way I did the first time ... I was supposed to save both of us".

"us? from whom?" Chloe shrugged, she was absolutely lost.

"You know, we often wondered why in our first life. Mark Jefferson, Nathan, Rachel...they seemed so important back then, but they were just side characters. Even your father and I'm so sorry, I wasn't supposed to save him. It was never about them or the kidnappings. In this life it happened in a totally different way, Jefferson was captured in Seattle, Nathan and Rachel disappeared from our lives many years ago".

Max kissed her wife's hands "It has always been about us. The moment I got all my memories back, it all fell into place like a clockwork. Leaving you was an open wound that never really closed, we loved each other, we had a wonderful family and still we both kept that pain bottled up. I had to save us... from myself".

"Max..." was all that Chloe could say between choked sobs.

"I had to save us from my decision, from my immaturity and selfishness, from a pain we would never forget".

"But I forgave you the very first moment I saw you again".

"I know, but the pain never washed away, the fear...I never forgave myself, and I always knew the damage I caused".

"I wouldn't even have known if you hadn't given me back my memories".

"There is only one Chloe, and you are all I care for, giving you back your memories was the only option".

Chloe broke down. Each of Max's new revelations was more startling than the last and they all shared one common trait, her wife's unwavering commitment to her. "I know that, you have proven it across different timelines, but I can't understand. An incredible power for something so trivial... how could two teenage girls from nowhere, Oregon be so important? Who cares so much about us? In the grand scheme of things we are absolutely insignificant, it doesn't add up".

Max looked almost patronizingly at her partner "but it does, think about it".

"What do you mean?"

"The first time, before I saved everyone, I tried to take the bullet for you. It didn't work. That wasn't the answer, I wasn't supposed to die. On our first life I waited until your final minute, in this life this is your second seizure, while myself..."

Chloe looked at her partner contemplatively "You...you've never been sick, we've joked about it hundreds of times, not a single cold, never".

With a malicious smile Max added "and not just this time".

"...you didn't get sick once in our first life either... but I remember going to visit you many times because you were ill".

"Always as a child, before I left for Seattle. I got sick there several times also. Never since I returned to Arcadia Bay, never since I got my powers".

Chloe opened her eyes wide "What you're trying to tell me is that you're... I mean... Are you immortal?".

"I might be, or at least my life span has been dramatically increased, anyway that's not important".

"How can it be not important?".

"Because you're obviously not, and not one second of my life is worth living once you are gone".

Max interrupted herself noticing her wife's stunned face. "I want you to understand the reason for my powers. The rest are just side effects, amazing as they could be, they are not the core of it".

"I'm going to try and follow you, but you're asking me to skip such mind blowing stuff".

"Do you remember the thing that terrified me the most as a child?". Max continued.

"Almost everything?" Chloe half-joked before frowning. She struggled to remember, something in her partner's words ringed a bell. She knew something important was slipping from her mind.

"Our first sleepover..." Max hinted.

Images kept playing in her mind slowly. Their first sleepover, Max lying next her. She was scared, something happened and she asked her friend to hug her. Chloe held her tight all night. She never forgot that night, Max shivering by her side and the comforting words she whispered until she fall asleep, the sense of belonging. But what was it that scared Max so much?.

She raised her head. She remembered.

"Storm, there was a storm".

"The storms, they terrified me. On our first sleepover there was a big storm, it probably wasn't that bad but I was a scary little girl. That night you had to...".

"Hug you until you fell asleep. I remember it perfectly" She ended the sentence.

"It's all so convenient... I survive you every time, a storm, my biggest child fear as a warning and a choice I was not willing to make".

"You told you choose to sacrifice Arcadia Bay once, you kept the details to yourself though".

"It was a mistake, not just because of the people who died and that's an awful lot to get over. It took me a while to become aware of the true extent of my choice. Letting Arcadia die for you meant stealing from you the most decent moment of your life. I burdened you, you would never have redemption that close again and you would hate me for denying you that possibility".

"That's horrible".

Max looked down in shame "your words, not mine".

"Oh my God, you kept that from me?".

"That is the only memory I kept from you, it doesn't matter now, that's all behind us I... I knew I had to find another solution, one that would allow me to be with you without being consumed by guilt. All you remember is me leading you through the week, but it wasn't like that for me. I told you the sacrifice bay wasn't an option, I just didn't indulge in details".

Max stopped trying to find the right words. "Going through that week again was mentally taxing for me, not on the way you might think at first.. We connected again very quickly and you believed me as you believed me today, but I had to hold back my feelings for you. Knowing what will happen might seem like a blessing but I assure you it is not. The first time I saw you again I wanted to throw myself into your arms at once, but I couldn't. You were the Chloe I loved but I was the Max that left 5 years ago and failed to contact you".

"You never wanted to talk about the time we spent together in your rewinds. You kept telling me it was in the past and you just wanted to think about the future, make new memories that we could share together".

"I'll never forget that feeling, ignorance of the future is bliss, that's why I choose to lose my memories when I created the new timeline".

Chloe shrugged. She was far beyond astonishment any more. Playing along seemed like the only way to go.

"As simple as that, you decided to lose your memories and they just resurfaced when I had my seizure" she said with no hint of irony in her voice.

"Yes" Max answered humbly only to regain her confidence with her next words "I didn't want to become a tourist of my own life, knowing what was going to happen at each moment was not the kind of life I wanted for us two. These powers work in a strange way".

"Understatement of the century".

"It's not only the power in itself, it gives me this odd conviction about how to make things work. I never created a new timeline, I never blocked my memories, I had absolutely no proof that I could make that, but I knew it was going to work, I just knew. My powers were so meticulously tailored that they allowed me do what I needed every single time. As I said before it was all so convenient".

Max paused to grab Chloe's hand. "It all comes down to the question you raised before, who gave me these powers? Am I the winner of a cosmological and incomprehensible lottery and it's just an incredible coincidence or somebody wanted me to have these abilities?".

Max stopped again, her mind wandered somewhere else "In our first... iteration? is that a word your scientific mind feels comfortable with?".

"Yeah, I think so". Chloe nodded.

"In our first iteration I told you that a life with you had not been enough, you replied that right there you signed for a thousand lives with me and still that won't be enough".

"I stand by my words, even if they were told in a different timeline".

"We have lived two almost complete lives, we are probably the only people to ever experienced such a thing. If all my experiences, all that I am could be reduced to a single thought, it would be something as simple as this: _I´m not letting you go_. I still don't understand how my powers work. Only thing I'm sure is that I'm getting more and more powerful every time".

Releasing Chloe's hands, Max cupped her face "My Chloe, I will never stop loving you.. When I got my memories back I become aware that there was an option for us to remain together. We could jump together and start again, I spent years thinking it over until I realized there was no need to ask you".

Chloe tried to speak only to be cut by Max. "Why do I still have my powers? There's only one reason I could think of. Think about it, who would care so much for us? specifically for you. Who would go as far as to bend the actual laws of time just to keep you safe?".

"Oh my God, Max...it's you".

"I don't even need to ask you, because it has already happened. The very fact that we are here proves it. We will jump together again, we will fall in love again and we will live many lives together, experiencing each and every one of them as it was the first, my powers will continue to grow and in one of those many lives I will be able to jump to the original timeline and grant myself these powers".

Max straightened herself and fixed her gaze in Chloe.

"I am Max Caulfield-Price.

I am the Goddam time master.

This time I make the rules.

And I'm not letting you go".

Chloe stood up and dragged Max to her, she buried her head in her wife's chest while Chloe hold her as tight as she could. It was almost primal, the raw urge of being physically close to Max overwhelmed her. Her childhood friend had grown to become a force of nature with god-like powers only because of her unwavering love for her.

She cried. Oh God, she cried so much in absence of a better way to express herself.

"Why?" A simple question that implied almost limitless other questions.

Max let go of her and fixed her dress while she cleared her throat. By all means Chloe hadn't cried alone "from the first day you offered me your hand and I took it, I have done nothing but care for you and love you. Everything that happened after that was only because I never stopped loving you".

Chloe pulled Max towards her entangling her long limbs around her. They remained motionless, lost in each other.

"What now?"Chloe broke the silence.

"All said and done, there's nothing that keeps us here any longer".

"Right now?".

"If you're ready, yes".

"Help me out of bed, please".

Max hesitated for a fraction of a second, instincts kicking in before she dismissed the idea "I guess it doesn't matter anymore".

Max helped her wife stood up. Together they removed every sensor covering Chloe's body and switched off the machinery before the alarm beeps alerted the hospital staff.

Once finished, they stood in front of each other, silently Max took her partner's hand.

"See you in a moment".

"HANG ON, HANG ON" Chloe said in anguish.

Max's heart missed a beat. She let go of her wife's hand alarmed. "What's wrong?".

Chloe cupped the sides of her head with both hands and gently forced her eyes on her. "This is important, focus, please repeat with me ... sexy nurse, sexy nurse".

"Oh, come on". Max shook her partner off.

"Please" Chloe said with puppy eyes.

"Two whole lives and you're still using the same trick. Lame".

"Does it work?"

Max opted for a teasing answer "We'll see, I suppose you'll have to wait".

"Will do. Get ready for retaliation once we get back our memories if you have been a shy hipster photographer again".

Max couldn't help but smile.

"Ready?".

"As ready as I'll ever be".

"Chloe Price-Caulfield, will you please fall in love with me again, give me my first kiss again, and spend infinite lives with me?".

Chloe bowed her head "As you wish".

The two women held hands and disappeared.

One more time.

Always.

* * *

This story comes to an end and it's time for me to take center stage.

Many stories end and the sense of loss that comes along leaves a bittersweet taste. It's not easy to say goodbye when you've grown fond of a particular narrative or characters. Not the case in this tale, as Max said, not on my watch. This fic is meant to comfort everyone of you that believes that Max and Chloe belong together and deserve the best. You already know that Numb and this epilogue are just the minuscule tip of the cosmic size iceberg that is their story.

Many years from now, when my own offspring won't remember who I was or what I did, Max and Chloe will still be falling in love for the first time in an infinite loop.

You may rest assured and rejoice, because Max is never letting Chloe go and Chloe will always say yes to Max.

As tempting as it is to write more of their adventures, I must finish here. Somebody once said that they have earned their privacy, that they have done enough for us. I am not entitled to talk for anybody else, but for sure they have done a lot for me.

* * *

 **(Rather lenghty) Notes**

First of all sorry for the late update. This was supposed to be out firsts days of May but something major happened in my life. Not that it wasn't expected but it hurt the same and I had to drop this story for a month and a half.

And now onto the actual notes.

For those of you who have come this far and enjoyed the story, it's clear that _Numb_ is not Max's story in Seattle. Well, it is, but it's also much more.

The origin of _Numb_ goes back to May-June 2017, after finishing the game and discovering that there was something called fan fiction.

While I was on the beach, trying to keep the twins away from the shallow waters (I know, totally a reference to Catcher in the Rye, but it's true) I couldn't get the characters out of my head, so I decided to do what I had never done before. Writing for pure pleasure and in a language other than my own. First I did a little trial with a short story. It helped me to realize that it wasn't going to be easy and that writing is much harder than it seems. That story was called _To hell and back...hundreds of times._ I had to polish it a couple times after posting it and probably I will do it again in the future.

LIS being a videogame made me think about my story in visual terms. The first scene from the whole plan, the scene that started it all, was the opening scene from _as you wish_. I played that scene over and over in my mind, music and all. That was the reason the starting of this chapter is written sort of like an screenplay. The funny thing about it is that the scene was not meant for _Numb_ in the first place. I'll explain that later.

The two ideas that came to mind when I decided to write a longer story were:

1) Why Max totally ignores Chloe and 5 years later comes back for a reason that isn't her. What happened in Seattle and why Max reconnects so quickly with her friend.

2) Give the two characters the best possible ending.

Regarding the first idea, I've said it many times before.I'm convinced that the characters are meant to be together. The way Max throws himself into Chloe's arms from the very first moment can only mean that there is much more to it than what the game show us from the very beginning. And as far as Chloe is concerned, from minute one is clear that Max's absence has influenced her in a deeply way.

As for the second idea, there were many possibilities.

A single life together, however happy it was, seemed not enough.

I didn't think immortality was a good solution either. My opinion is that the human brain is shaped to work in human life-span periods. When you've lived too long and you've seen a lot of things repeating themselves (politics, wars, etc) it's only logical that you end up not caring about anything. There's only one thing I'd hate more than Max and Chloe not ending up together, and that's for them to become cynical, about each other and about the rest of the world. So immortality was a no go.

Thinking about it, one of the issues that reached me from LIS was feeling young again, like when I was 18 and my whole future was ahead of me. So I thought what better way than to give them both that chance again, not once, but infinite times. To live through life as if it were the first, experiencing everything for the first time again, and at the end of those lives discover that they are starting over again and again. That was the best possible ending IMO.

I needed to give them that ending but prior to that I had to explain why Chloe is all Max cares about, make it believable for her to go to such extents for Chloe. The only way was explain Max's life in Seattle and how everything in her life revolved around Chloe, show that Chloe was the only reason for Max coming back to Arcadia Bay.

I couldn't explain the whole plan from the beginning because I would reveal much of the story, so I set _Numb_ as Max's story in Seattle and planned _Infinite Loop_ as an epilogue of her later life and Max's plans to start their infinite lives together.

The only change I made is that _not enough time_ (last chapter in _Numb_ ) was supposed to be shorter and part of _Infinite Loop._ At the end I included it at the end of _Numb  
_ because of some comments asking for some story after LIS and because I felt maybe that way _Numb_ started revealing itself as more than just Max's Seattle years.

And now time for a hot topic. LIS second season.

Many people left comments both public and private saying _Numb_ or parts of it could be used as a second season. I always answered that was not my whole idea. I even had a lengthy conversation in about that in fan fiction net. I always said I would explain myself.

LIS second season was my original idea to start writing and I wrote drafts for two scenes before I discarded it. It was a behemot I wouldn't be able to tame by myself. I redirect my efforts to a humbler story using some of the ideas I had for second season. That ended up being _Numb_ but I never forgot about the second season.

So here we go.

I would have started with Sacrifice Chloe and Save Kate.

Hold your pitches and forks. I am first and foremost Pricefield, but I need to set the story.

In case you haven't sacrificed Chloe (I never sacrificed her) the game would start with a short cutscene showing the aftermath of the storm and how they struggle to live with their choice. Chloe is consumed by guilt and after a few weeks asks Max to come back an sacrifice her. She uses more or less the same words included in _as you wish_ (the part about stealing her most decent moment). She finds a photo and jumps or she is more powerful (work in progress but I prefer that she keeps her powers and she is more powerful you'll see why)

In case you haven't save Kate the game plays with Victoria doing her part and in new game plus you have a cutscene before starting in which you see Kate being saved and you replay the game with Kate instead of Victoria (replay value. Hey, I'm looking after the gamers and the investors)

First scene is two old women in a restaurant, a long shot and you can't see who they are, the camera is fixed and some seconds go by, suddenly one of the women (the one with her back to the camera) raises slightly a finger and everything freezes immediately. The camera zooms is and is Max and Kate (Victoria) age 80-90. Max is obviously much more powerful. They resume speaking normally while everything around them is frozen.

Max says "this is not the first time we've been through this".

Kate nods and says she has suspected as much.

Max tells her the story of what really happened in her first timeline and how she finally sacrificed Chloe. She tried to live her life forgetting about her but she has never got over her. She tells her that she has lived her life hundreds of times because she promised her to be happy but she can't without her. This idea is developed in _through hell and back._

From that we would jump to tell the story of Max and Chloe before LIS, with continuous time jumps, adding some scenes of Kate/Victoria bonding.

The goodbye scene. I would use the one in chapter 1 of _Numb_

The scene in which they met as is told in chapter 6 _Meltdown_ I would include a choice when Chloe offers her hand to Max:

 _A)_ take it

 _B)_ hella take it.

Because honesty there is no choice there _._

The scene with the bully in chapter 2, the one that is explained in one comment that is an extended cut of the actual scene that is written.

Probably most of _Numb_ to show what Chloe really meant for Max.

Parts of Chloe's life, when Max was away, some scenes of BTS are actually good (Chloe opening the mail and saying _no love for Chloe_ , the scene in the junkyard in which she uses the baseball bat in everything except the cameras). I would add a bit of Rachel, but not too much, and for sure nothing about her mother or shallow side stories like in BTS.

The idea would be to show that even when they were apart, they were thinking about each other, and it would be told with different flashbacks going back to the conversation between Max and Kate.

That would be about 50-60% of the time .

Now I need something that glues the whole story together just as the detective story and Jefferson did in LIS. Only a descriptive story of their youth wouldn't be enough. I am strongly against introducing new characters because it would divert the attention and that would take too much time to make it right. My choice would be Jefferson and Sean Prescott.

In every life, Max had managed to jump back and forth and take down both Jefferson and Sean Prescott who is more thoroughly described in season Two. He is not a new character, with that, using the kickstart of him being introduced in LIS you can play with the idea of a new antagonist who is already half described. Less camera time to introduce him means more time to develop him in a good narrative way. (Let's not introduce characters that end half developed or simply forgotten

I said I wrote drafts for two scenes. First one was the opening scene at the restaurant. The other was in a club in Seattle. A 14 year old Max with a hoodie enters in a club, she removes the hoodie and we can see it's her with a lot of make up although it's clear she is too young to be there. She approaches a table and there is Mark Jefferson surrounded by 4-5 girls, models by their looks. There is a band in the background and it's Neil Young and Pearl Jam playing _I'm the ocean (_ because it's in Seattle and I'm paying no royalties) She comes up to him and asks "Mark Jefferson?" She looks up and asks in his habitual patronizing tone if she is not too young to be there and how she made it in the club. Instead of answering she throws some polaroids at him who examines them. at some point later we see Max injecting drugs in Jefferson neck.

Black screen and suddenly it's a Jefferson POV shot, his head was covered with a black hood, when Max lifts it, she is in front of him camera in hand. He asks what is happening, Max moves around the room in time jumps (that thing about disappearing and immediately appearing some other place) and Jefferson freaks out. She teases him and tells him she is the storm that is taking him down. She injects some drug again saying that is just a mild dose, that he is going to be awake the whole time. She starts shooting him (with the camera I mean) he tries to scream but he is dizzy and drooling. The camera moves around and we see a bunch of red binders with a note that says _Seattle PD._ Before the scene fades to black we can hear Max saying that this the only part she doesn't feel sad about every time and that she is not a monster, that she is not killing him but that she wouldn't like to be in his shoes once he enters jails with the other inmates knowing what he has done.

Max being 14 in that scene means that she jumped from other point and she does it to be younger and attract a sick perv like Jefferson.

The Jefferson-Prescott part would amount for a 20-30 % of the actual game.

The end starts going back to the first scene, Max tells Kate that she had enough of trying to get over Chloe, that she is fully convinced she won't forget about her, similar to what she says in _through hell_ mixed with the scene in this chapter in which she realizes that she is not supposed to kill her and forget about her, but save Chloe. More or less she would explain Kate what she explains to Chloe in this chapter, but she won't mention where she is going.

Kate asks Max if they have been close friends in every life she has lived and she answers yes. She asks her is they have ever been an item and she answers that no, that she had always suspected that every time Kate has loved her but she had never made a move knowing that Max had never forgot Chloe. Kate makes Max promise that they would be friends in every timeline as she does in chapter 1 of _Infinite Loop_ and she jumps. Before she does she urges Max to go save Chloe because she doesn't deserve to die in a bathroom.

And we jump to the first scene of this chapter. The trick being that (if everything goes according to plan and the story is well written) most people would expect her to jump to the bathroom scene but she jumps to the day she left for Seattle.

The game ends the moment Max whispers on Chloe's ears and exits her room.

Post credits scene is the part in which their life is explained in jumps (it's 2013... etc. ) as in this chapter, followed by her conversation with Chloe in this chapter again when she reveals the origins of her powers and what they are going to do.

The game really ends with them making her first jump together and knowing that they are going to be together in infinite lives.

That's what I would do and I think it gives closure to the characters and their story in a great way.

A few prompts from this chapter.

\- The part in which their live is told in time jumps it's from Watchmen, the graphic novel. Specifically the part in which Captain Manhattan is in Mars. I saw something similar (not exactly) in a couple fan fics but actually my idea comes from Watchmen.

\- As you wish: Obviously, the Princess Bride. Blade runner is mentioned in the game which shows an excellent taste, also Final Fantasy (need quotation here). I picture young Max and Chloe watching the Princess Bride many times. It has this atemporal heartwarming quality and also there are pirates in it.

\- Night Springs: is from Alan Wake one of my all time favorite games.

Almost at the end. A grammar commentary. When I first publish _trough hell_ there was a constructive comment about me repeating Max and Chloe's name too much and advising to use epithets instead. I wasn't sure about it, but I read many fics which used them a lot. When I wrote _Numb_ I used them. there were plenty of _the brunnete, the taller girl, the brown haired guy_ etc. I was never sure about it. I read a lot about it and finally decided that I should follow my guts and not use them.

Before posting this I edited _Numb_ (which meant further delay for this chapter) and eliminated them. Maybe it's better, maybe it's not, but I feel more comfortable with it. So in this controversy about using epithets or not, I have to say I strongly advocate for not using them. Now I will edit _through hell_ when I find the time.

That's all I wanted to say.

My thankyous are at the end of _Numb_ I stand by what I said there.

See you around guys.


End file.
